Murder was provoked: Mumtaz Qadri

Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of the former Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer has appealed to the Supreme Court against his death sentence. Qadri’s lawyer Khwaja Sharif appealed to the court stating the murder was an act of provocation and that the death penalty is unconstitutional and unlawful.

Islamabad High Court (IHC) had up held Qadri’s death sentence under Section-302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and instead struck out a terrorism conviction, making execution in the coming days unlikely.

An appeal against the death sentence by Qadri’s body guard had been dismissed by IHC but the death sentence was also considered null and void under the Anti Terrorism Act. Qadri has also objected by saying that he did not agree with the politicians aim to reform the strict blasphemy law of Pakistan which should continue to carry death penalty.